The Notice of Trial
by Francesca Salit
Summary: It may not seem to be at all about Sweep but is taken to a different level. Everyone you used to know is gone. Some new people have arrived.


**Chapter One: The Finding of the Garrison**

Angela, Miguel, Jordan—

Dinner's in the fridge. I'm working late shift tonight. See you tomorrow.

Love Mom

"Once again, she's left us," said Angela Smitten. "What can we do?" asked her brother Miguel. "Let's watch the news," said Miguel's twin, Jordan. "No way!" said Angela and Miguel at the same time. Angela fingered around the fridge. "Salad, fruits, vegetables, cream cheese, milk, orange juice, lemon lime," she mumbled. Jordan flicked on the TV and sat down on the couch. "Angi," he said. "What?" Angela called. "Can you make me some soup?" asked Jordan. "You wish, JD," said Angela, "make your own. Where'd Miguel go?" Miguel, meanwhile, was exploring the house. They'd moved in a week earlier but the house wasn't entirely finished so Mrs. Smitten had told them to stay away from the upstairs. They'd slept in the basement. Now everything was done. Miguel took his stuff from his corner in the basement and trotted upstairs. The upstairs was a mess. The paint on some of the banisters was still wet and the chandelier that Mrs. Smitten had bought for $16 was now hanging by a string. Miguel carefully walked under it. He looked into a room. It had a bed with drapes and a silky footstool. There was a big dresser with a mirror on one end and the bed on the other. Besides those things and a small wardrobe in the corner, the room was empty. Miguel liked the room so he got on top of the bed and made himself comfortable. He dragged his suitcase with him. After smacking his suitcase on the bed, he got off the bed and looked in all the drawers of the dresser. They were all empty. Except the one in the top-right hand corner.

It had a pen and a pad inside. Flipping through the pages, Miguel realized they were all empty. But the last one has scrawled letters on it. It said:

Make believe I dance and scream,

When I only dream,

The thing you look for most,

Is always right under your nose so no need to boast.

Confused, Miguel ripped out the page and slipped it into his pocket. He put the pen and pad back into the drawer and closed it. Then he went toward the wardrobe. He'd read the book The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe so he had a big imagination about wardrobes. He quietly opened the door. It was empty. Smiling, Miguel realized this was a great place to hide in. He slide in and left the door opened ajar. He looked around. He could barely see but something shimmered in the corner—it was like a small candle, only brighter. Miguel bent down to see it better when suddenly he heard the door to his room fly open. The light disappeared. Standing up, Miguel heard footsteps. "Where is he?" asked an impatient voice. His twin's voice followed. "I don't think he's in here, Angi." Angela's footsteps echoed out of the room. JD's quiet voice said, "Miguel. Are you in here?" Miguel moved the wardrobe door open farther and nodded at his brother. He heard Angela coming back down the hall. He put his finger to his lips at JD and then closed the door. Gasping at what he'd done, he tried to open it again. It was jammed. He heard Angela's voice. "Well let's go back downstairs, guess he won't get a room." Miguel heard heavy footsteps leave the room, then lighter ones, followed by a closed door. Miguel didn't scream but he tried to bang open the door. It wouldn't budge. Miguel sank against the door. He'd be in there for at least another hour before JD told the truth or Angela found out. He looked down at his shoes (or what he could see of them). They sparkled. He looked up. In the corner, once again, was the bright candle. He was going to crawl towards it but it flew up above his head, opened a small door in the ceiling, and flew out, closing the door behind it. Suddenly a door opened. Miguel looked up. It was the door the light had just gone through. Heavy footsteps came towards him, getting louder. The wardrobe door swung open and Miguel tumbled out. He had reached feet. They were Puma sneakers. Gulping, Miguel looked up. It was Angela, looking terribly angered. "Get up!" she ordered. Miguel got to his feet. "What were you doing in a wardrobe?" asked Angela. "I liked it in there," he said, "then I decided to hide from you and—" "—and you locked yourself in?" finished Angela. Miguel nodded. "Stupid," she mumbled, dragging Miguel out of the room and back downstairs. She put him on the couch and handed him a peanut butter sandwich. Miguel ate quietly. JD was sitting next to him, watching TV while eating toast. "What is this?" asked Miguel. "Some cop show," JD answered without looking at him. Miguel watched as he ate too.

After having his snack, Miguel went back up to his room. His suitcase was opened. Confused, he looked in it. Nothing was missing. But tucked in his T-shirt in messy handwriting was written:

Check the drawer

Miguel went over to the drawer. He opened it.

Inside sat the pad. The pen was lying on top of it. Miguel picked up the pad and flipped through the pages. The end page said:

And so my friend, you've found it

But now that you've seen it, you doubt it

You do not know where it will go,

But it has your mind snowed.

Miguel read it again. He assumed it was talking about the light. The 3 lines made sense but the last didn't. "'But it has your mind snowed,'" reread Miguel. He ripped out the page and tucked it into his pocket. Realizing the first note, he pulled it back out, followed by the one he'd just found. "These lines might make sense," said Miguel, "'the thing you look for most, is always right under your nose so no need to boast.' 'You do not know where it will go, but it has your mind snowed.' I guess I have to find the light." He put the notes back into his pocket and crept into the wardrobe. He left the doors wide open as he pushed against the ceiling. He heard a popping noise—almost like a cap going off a bottle—and the door swung open. He grabbed the sides of the doorway and kicked himself up. What he saw in this room was amazing. He pulled himself all the way out and looked around. The room was made out of pure gold.

**Chapter Two: Bonds Are Found**

Amazed, Miguel looked around. Everything in the room; furniture, paintings, windows; were made of gold. He heard a yell. Slipping back through the small door (and closing it on his way down), Miguel heard a stampede of heavy footsteps coming up the stairs. Miguel got out of the wardrobe, closed the doors, and jumped onto his bed. He pretended to sort through his clothes as the doorway to his room filled with Angela's figure. "Well, well, well," said Angela unpleasantly, "I can see you didn't lock yourself in the wardrobe again. That's good. But don't yell if you're not stuck. Don't forget about the boy who cried wolf." "That wasn't me," said Miguel. Another yell rang out. "JD," the siblings said at the same time. They ran out of Miguel's room and down the steps. They ran into the basement, where they thought the yell had come from. JD was down there but he was clicking his suitcase shut. "What'd you scream for?" Angela asked, "Got your finger stuck in the suitcase?" "No," replied JD, "I didn't even scream." "Ok enough Mr. Funny Man," said Angela angrily, "who screamed?" "Not me," said JD. "Not me either," said Miguel. "Well I certainly didn't," said Angela, "empty your pockets." "What'll that do?" asked Miguel defensively. "Just empty them," ordered Angela. Miguel flipped his front pockets inside out. Nothing fell. His back pocket (which the notes were contained in) was left untouched. "All of them!" ordered Angela, pointing to Miguel's back pocket. Miguel reached back, pretending to be flipping it inside out, while he secured the notes in his fist. Then he flipped the pocket inside out. Angela went through JD's stuff first. "A small jar, four pennies, seven dimes. You're fine," said Angela, "and nothing for you?"

Miguel nodded. "What are you clenching so tightly?" Angela asked. "Nothing," Miguel said, "I'm just angry." He clenched his other fist for show. "Oh right," said Angela, "open your hand." Miguel did. The notes fell into Angela's hand. "What are these?" Angela asked. She read them. "Some kind of riddles you made up," she guessed, "whatever." She threw them back. Miguel caught them. Suddenly the scream filled the air.

"JD, you call Mom," ordered Angela as they ran upstairs, "Miguel, come with me." JD split down the hallway to the kitchen while Miguel followed Angela upstairs. "It's coming from my room," said Miguel, trembling. Angela grabbed a broom that was at the top of the stairs. "Well it'll soon be busted," said Angela quietly. "What is it exactly?" asked Miguel. "Shut up!" said Angela, "there it is." Miguel looked at his doorway. A figure that was no taller then a frog probably, stood there. It had green eyes and yellow skin. It had 5 legs and 3 arms. One arm was holding onto the doorway while the other two were clapping. Suddenly more of the frog-things sprang out. Screaming, Miguel and Angela ran downstairs. Miguel turned around as they ran. The frog-things sat on the banisters. The one that had been standing Miguel's doorway was now standing at the top step, looking different than all the others. Miguel turned all the way around at the bottom step and looked at them. Now he knew why they all looked different from the one at his doorway. The doorway one had green eyes and the rest had black. "He must be the Head," Miguel told himself. He ran back to the kitchen, where JD was talking on the phone, Angela huddled near him. "Yes ok—no but Mom I---Fine but—Ok bye!" said JD. He hung up and looked at Miguel. "Where?"

"On the stairs," said Miguel. JD and Miguel headed toward the stairs. The frog-things were gone. "What were those?" asked Angela. "Let's find out," said Miguel, running up the steps to his room. His siblings followed reluctantly. Miguel found his room empty and headed toward the drawer. Just as he expected, another message was written on the pad. It said:

And so you've see them,

They are Bonds,

They carry things call Hongs,

That's what makes that eerie noise,

Look now!

Watch out!

They're very close.

Miguel turned around. The Bonds were up close to his face, staring at him. Screaming, Miguel swatted the Bonds away. They clung onto JD's shoulder and dragged him toward the wardrobe. "Not the wardrobe!" Miguel yelled and tried to free his twin. But a Bond swatted him, knocking him to the ground. The wardrobe door closed. Miguel wretched it open. It was empty but the small ceiling doorway was open a crack. "C'mon!" yelled Miguel, pushing it open. He climbed into the gold room. Angela climbed up too. "Whoa," she said.


End file.
